W Cole

Hey guys, I just picked up a size 56 Specialized Tarmac from my LBS and I absolutely love the bike. However, on my first ride after ~30 miles or so my neck got fairly sore. So much that I wanted to get off the bike.

I'm 5'9.5" with long legs/short torso about 33.5-34" inseam depending on how I measure, however I also have decently long arms - somewhat of an ecto build I guess?

My LBS didn't do any sort of fit except watching me ride around the parking lot. I went back to them complaining of neck pain and they raised the stem by 8 degrees and told me to come back after I have more miles on the bike and they would put me on the trainer and fit me.

I am kind of regretting going with the 56cm. Do you guys think I should be on a 54? The LBS told me 56 was my size and never had me ride a 54. I told them I'm new to road bikes (been borrowing my friends) and had no idea as far as fitment. Depending on what you guys say I may push the LBS to swap me out for a 54.

flip

You should expect to get a proper fitting from a shop selling you a Tarmac. But if you are new to the geometry of a road bike and/or the distance is longer than you have done in the past, you should also expect to have some neck soreness until you build up to it.

The Tarmac is a great bike btw...ride the paint off her.

Innes

No LBS, fitter, or test-drive can tell you how a bike will feel.

You buy a bike that is close to your size, do a quick fit, ride it for 100 miles, maybe 250 miles, and then start adjusting the fit.

How long had you been road-biking on a aggressive road bike like the Tarmac before buying this one? The Tarmac geometry is for racing, if you wanted a more upright bike, and a more upright neck, you should have gotten a Roubaix.

palesaint

Being 5'9.5", 56cm is well with the "rough" guideline for bike fit. There are many subtle variations that can be done to make the frame fit better. Stem length/angle, saddle set back, handlebar setup are the most common. I would definitely consider asking the bike shop for someone with knowledge to check out your fit and suggest how to fine tune it.

With that said, and as mentioned above, the bike could be a good fit now but you aren't used to it. When I got my first road bike I had difficulty riding much more than 20 miles without neck/shoulder pain. A combination of lots of miles and adjusting my style (I hunched my shoulders too much and had a general "tense" form) helped build me up to centuries with no pain.

Andrewphillipf

I'm 2 inches taller than you and on a 56cm Tarmac. I'm sure that you can adjust stuff to make it work but that just sounds off from the start.

W Cole

Wow! Thanks for all the quick replies guys. I forgot to mention im 22 years old and do some motorcycle racing (very cramped geometry) so I figured I would be ok with the race geometry. Although I did look at the Roubaix as well.

It sounds like I should be ok with the 56cm. Right now I have the stem setup as high as it will go. It would seem that if i wanted to "flip" or lower the stem I would have to shorten it at the same time. Does this make sense to do?

umd

If your neck is getting sore with a 56 it would likely be worse with a 54 because the headtube would be shorter and bars would be lower. If you are too stretched out you can get a shorter stem to bring you closer in. Also it could just be that it is because you are not used to the road cycling position, and it could also be how you are holding your arms or if you are scrunching your shoulders. If you can, you should take a picture of you on the bike and post it.

AtomicCactus

I'm 6'1" with long legs and a short torso and I ride a 56 cm Tarmac.

W Cole

So being 3" shorter I should probably be on a 54?

AtomicCactus

Without seeing you on your bike, that'd be my first guess! I'm by no means a fit expert, but I was fitted on my bike by some guy who went to the Specialized Univeristy of fitting-ology so I guess I can be fairly confident my frame size is good for me. However, my fit dude was about my height, and he says he can ride a 58 cm or 60 cm frame no problem. But then, he wasn't proportioned like me. I also have longer arms, just a little fyi.

Yeah, lowering the stem effectively makes it longer (so I've been told). My stem was raised from -8 deg to +8 deg to effectively shorten it. Fit dude was hesitant in shortening the stem because: 1) probably didn't want to swap it out, and 2) said shorter stems result in poorer steering. You could also move your saddle forward but then that'll affect other things.

Anyhow, do you find yourself craning your neck while riding? What position is it in and where are you mostly looking?

W Cole

My guy came from the Specialized University as well. However, he only watched me ride around the parking lot.

I originally had the stem at the stock 8 degree rise (12 deg stem - 4 deg collar/shim) but I raised it to 16 degrees (12 deg stem + 4 deg collar/shim) which feels a lot better. I only did a 15 or so mile ride on it and it seemed okay. Previously with the 8 degree rise I had to force myself to look ahead and not down. I'm going to try to do a 60 mile ride tomorrow so I'll be able to see if I get any neck/back pain over prolonged periods with the new higher rise stem setup.

I'm just wondering if raising the stem is the correct thing to do. It seems like the problem is that the stem is too long and the "band-aid" solution is to raise the stem when I should really be shortening it?

umd

No, it sounds to me like the Tarmac is too agressive of a bike for your current fitness and as a result your bars are too low. Both bringing them up and back will make the fit less agressive but there is only so much you do on a Tarmac as opposed to a less agressive frame like say a roubaix.

rbart4506

Listen to UMD..

I have a Roubaix and a Tarmac.

I found the fit of the Tarmac a tad aggressive compared to the Roubaix. I had my Tarmac set up with a 6d stem flipped up and 15mm of spacers above the cone.

As this season has worn on and my riding has gotten more race oriented, and my strength and flexibility has improved, I have slowly lower the stem by moving spacers above the stem.

Yesterday I finally flipped the stem down and placed the 15mm of spacers back below the stem and have a fairly agressive drop. I did have to replace my 110 stem with a 100 to keep my reach the same.

I still ride the Roubaix, but only when doing easy rides or ones with lots and lots of climbing (it's a compact)....

I know I'm rambling here, but give it time...You will see as you ride more you will be able to handle that aggressive fit a bit better.

And as UMD says...The 54 will probably make things worse since it has a lower head tube. You would also being showing a ton of seat post.

petalpower

FWIW, I'm 5'7.5" with a 31.5" inseam and got professionally fitted to a 54 2010 Tarmac.

I'm a newb, so take that for what it's worth.